“I don’t got anything to say to any of you. She was fine before that goddamned circle was cast! I didn’t want her to do it. I tried to stop her. I would’ve stopped her if Miss I’m the Boss of Everyone hadn’t told her Warrior to get me outta the way. I didn’t even know Erin had died until a few minutes ago when I finally busted outta that fucking closet.” Dallas’s eyes were hostile red slits. “I don’t know who you’re trying to blame for this massive fuck-up, but I can tell you that I know the truth, and so will everyone else here at the House of Night—Erin is dead because of some shit Zoey Redbird and her friends caused to happen in that circle tonight. She was fine until then, and if I would’ve been able to stop her, she’d still be fine!”
The lights in the waiting room began to flicker as Dallas’s anger became palpable.
“It’s past time for you to shut up, Dallas,” Stark said, rising to stand between the angry red vampyre and Zoey.
Darius joined him, shoulder to shoulder. “Erin rejected the Change. That didn’t have anything to do with Zoey’s circle.”
“She didn’t want you to stop her,” Shaunee had started to cry again. “She wanted to be part of our circle again.”
“She didn’t want shit to do with any of you!” Dallas yelled.
“You will not raise your voice in anger so soon after a young fledgling’s untimely death.” The strength within Thanatos’s voice had the lights steadying and Dallas taking a step back. “If you wish to bid your friend farewell with peace and love and respect, then you are welcome to do so. If you wish to spew anger and sow dissent, then you must leave, Dallas, and take your negative energy with you. It has no place at the bedside of one who has recently joined our Goddess.”
“I’ll tell Erin good-bye in my own way, and it won’t be with the people who caused her death!” Dallas growled the words, and with a sneer he backed several more steps away before turning and running from the infirmary.
“He’s gonna be a serious problem,” Stark said.
“He’s been a serious problem since he found out about Rephaim and me,” Stevie Rae said, chewing her lip. “That screwed him up.”
“That is not your fault,” Rephaim said, taking Stevie Rae’s hand.
“Yeah, well, I wish I didn’t feel like it was,” Stevie Rae murmured, leaning into her boyfriend. “It’s just that he used to be so sweet, and now he’s not just a douche, he’s a dangerous douche.” She looked at Thanatos. “I hate to say it, but I have a feeling Erin’s death is going to be the excuse he needs to do something stupid like come after us.”
“Yeah, and with all of us being stuck together here on campus, Dallas and the asstards who follow him are going to be stirring up as much shit as they can,” Aphrodite said.
Stark’s intake of breath had the group turning to him. “Shit pot stirring—that’s the same thing that Neferet’s into. And we know that right before Neferet snatched Grandma Redbird, Dallas was in communication with her.”
“Which means if Neferet has managed to pull herself together enough to reform her body, chances are she’s going to contact Dallas again as a way to get the inside scoop on what’s going on at the House of Night,” Zoey finished for Stark.
“With Dallas blaming Erin’s death on us, he’ll be as happy as a vulture on a meat wagon to do anything he can to mess us up,” Stevie Rae said.
Aphrodite grimaced at Stevie Rae’s bumpkin analogy, but she had to agree with her logic. “The worst thing that could be done to mess us up would be to figure out a way to prove one of the House of Night vampyres killed my dad.”
“I believe your supposition is correct. Neferet killed your father. I also believe her manifestation may have caused Erin’s body so much trauma that it rejected the Change—so, quite literally, Neferet could be guilty of the taking of two precious lives tonight,” Thanatos said.
“She’ll be wanting to shove that guilt onto someone else,” Aphrodite said.
“Yep, she’ll be wanting to plant evidence to make it look like someone from here did it,” Z agreed with her. “Dallas would help her do that. There’s no doubt about it.”
“That must be prevented,” Thanatos said.
“How? This is a school, not a military fortress. It’s just not that tough to sneak in and out of here. We all know that—we’ve all done it. And we have to remember that Neferet knows her way around this school even better than we do,” Aphrodite said.
“Then my task is really rather simple. I must devise a way to prevent Neferet from entering our campus,” Thanatos said.
“Actually, you need to prevent more than just Neferet. I can see Dallas, or any of his disgusting friends, sneaking in and out and doing whatever batshit crazy thing Neferet has cooked up for them to do. She wouldn’t actually have to do anything; she likes to delegate. It makes her feel powerful,” Aphrodite said.
“Good point,” Z agreed.
“I will meditate on this, and until I have an answer I will be quite certain the school grounds are being patrolled diligently. Kalona and Aurox will not allow anyone to enter our campus during daylight hours.” Thanatos said. “In the meantime, it is almost dawn. You all need rest.”
Aphrodite stood up, and was surprised to feel the room rock slowly around her. Grateful the Xanax was beginning to work, she leaned against Darius’s strong arm. “Well, I’d say that I don’t want to sound like a bitch, but that would be a lie. I don’t care what I sound like. You and the rest of the School Council need to know that Darius is going to be staying with me in my old dorm room.” Aphrodite spoke to Thanatos in a firm, no nonsense voice that reminded her a little uncomfortably of her mother. “I know that’s against the rules, but so is kidnapping someone’s grandma, killing a human for no reason, and causing a fledgling to reject the Change and die—and that’s only three of the long list of rules that have been broken by the bad guys recently. So, I’m breaking a rule for the good guys. I don’t want to sleep without my Warrior, and I can promise you that Z feels the same way.” Aphrodite shot a humorous look at Stevie Rae. “The bumpkin would be insisting that she sleeps with her Bird Boy, but he’s going to be a bird and, apparently, she’s still refusing to put him in a cage at night—right, Stevie Rae?”
“I’m not talkin’ to you when you call Rephaim Bird Boy.” She frowned at Aphrodite.
“Yep, just as I thought. Still no cage. Anyway, we’ve been fighting evil and saving the effing world for months now, and I need my Warrior. I’m not sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. The end.”
There was a long pause while Thanatos and Aphrodite locked gazes, and then Thanatos said, “I believe there is precedence for Warriors to share the sleeping quarters of their Priestesses, especially if they believe their Priestesses could be in danger.”
“Z is always in danger,” Stark said quickly.
“As is my Prophetess,” Darius added, sliding a protective arm around her.
Aphrodite smiled. “I guess that settles that.”
“Stevie Rae, I know you’ll be sleeping alone as soon as the sun rises,” Shaunee spoke softly. “And if you wouldn’t mind too much, I’d really appreciate it if you stayed with me in the dorm room I used to share with Erin. I—I don’t think I can stay there by myself.”
“Oh, heck yeah, I’ll stay with you!” Stevie Rae said, hugging Shaunee. “But I’m gonna need to leave the window open for Rephaim.”
“We can do that,” Shaunee said. “No problem.”